Body proportions before and during growth hormone therapy in children with chronic renal failure.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over), published as a randomized controlled trial.

To assess body proportions, the various body segments were related to height and expressed as shape values (SV).

Why It Was Studied

Growth retardation is a common problem in children with chronic renal failure (CRF).

Few published data are available on whether the normalization of height in these children during growth hormone (GH) treatment is accompanied by proportional growth of the other parts of the body.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 15 children were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as children, both men and women.

In this study, body proportions before and during GH therapy were assessed in children with severe growth retardation due to CRF.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

Because people in this Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Some children received a placebo instead of Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over), giving a reference point.

Each person switched between Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

What Was Measured

All results were adjusted for age and sex, and expressed as SD scores using reference values for healthy Dutch children.

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Age Determination by Skeleton, Anthropometry, Arm, Body Height, Diet, Foot and Growth.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) in 15 children.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 2003 (Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany)), a journal based in Germany.

More context: the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) compound page, all human trials.